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FEBRUARY 17, 2026 |
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Up or down: True or false? Global fintech investment increased in 2025 even though overall deal volume went down. |
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BANKING |
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PNC has launched Premier Client, an integrated banking and investing service for emerging- and mass-affluent consumers. The latter group typically hold $100,000–$1 million in liquid assets, while emerging affluent consumers are more loosely defined as those with high wealth potential. |
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PNC Premier Client blends digital banking and brokerage services with financial advice and priority service in a play for households with over $100,000 in assets. This augments the bank’s plan to use branches to pursue retail deposits: PNC said last year that it would open more than 300 new or renovated branches by 2030. |
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DIGITAL PAYMENTS |
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Cash App will charge companies to access its credit score data, per Payments Dive. |
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Cash App is in discussion with several parties, including “lenders offering the types of credit access our customers need and are asking for, as well as established industry partners who can help get the score to a wider audience,” a Block spokesperson told Payments Dive. |
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These firms will pay a fee for credit score access and will officially start working with the platform for scoring later this year. |
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FINTECH |
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MrBeast Industries is acquiring Step, a teen-focused banking fintech. The purchase price was not disclosed, but Step had raised $500 million in total by 2022, its most recent reported funding round. It also launched a crypto exchange at the time but has since backed off to offer only stock trading. |
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MrBeast Financial, the financial services subbrand, is commercializing finfluencer marketing at a massive scale, focused on selling a single consumer financial app: |
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MrBeast is the world’s most-followed YouTuber, with 445 million subscribers. He’s used his brand and reach to expand from media to cobranded chocolate bars, a Lunchables competitor, an Amazon Prime series, and merchandise.
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Step offers traditional banking products as well as a financial education program. It is part of a group advocating for financial education in US schools. |
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REPORT |
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Economic pressure is reshaping how US consumers pay in 2026. They’re rebalancing between credit, debit, cash, and emerging alternatives as financial stress widens gaps in spending power and payment preferences. Here’s what it means for payment providers’ strategies. |
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Key question: How will consumers change the way they pay for retail purchases in 2026? |
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Key stat: Credit card transaction value will cross the $4 trillion mark for the first time in 2026, up 5.6% YoY, per our forecast, as affluent cardholders sustain spending despite a pullback by lower-income segments. |
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(EMARKETER subscription required to read the full report) |
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CHART OF THE WEEK |
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Key stat: The average US commercial bank credit card interest rate was 21.0% in Q4 2025, up from 14.9% in Q4 2019, according to the Federal Reserve Board. | | | |
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